Tis the season… I have had the opportunity to photograph quite a few Mitzvah’s this spring and a bunch of them have been atREFUGE in Farmingdale, NY. This venue always looks so stunning to walk into. The atmosphere is warm and inviting just like the Newfield family! What a great day and Congratulations to Jack on his Bar-Mitzvah. Check out some of the images below.

It was one of the most unique spaces I have shot at yet and one that I will always remember as “perfect in every way”. Not only was the family so nice to work with, Maya the Bat-Mitzvah girl was one of the sweetest 13 yr old’s I have ever met! The theme was NYC so for Maya’s pre-shoot we decided to head where else, NYC! Check out some of the images below.

Had such a fun night shooting candids at this Bar-Mitzvah over the weekend. The place was packed and filled with love & life celebrating Shelby & Dylan. Watching everyone have a blast is always a thrill to me. The venue was Club Aura in East Meadow.

Ava’s Bat-Mitzvah at Temple-Or Elohim on January 17th was perfect in every way. The saying, it’s all in the details, is so true. From the color scheme to the decor of the room all enhances the WOW factor when guests walk in. The entertainment company, Party Hardy, was so professional and full of energy.

Back in the fall when Ava”s Mom had asked me if I would photograph the party, we talked about scheduling a pre-mitzvah photo shoot. We scheduled the session for early fall since the images were going to be used to decorate the room. I wanted to create a group of images for Ava that she was proud of. They were planning making them life size and putting them all around the room. I started by listening to what their requests were and after that I went to work on creating a vision board so we were all on the same page. We started the session with my awesome hair and makeup artist AnnMarie Behling of My Pretty Committee. We then head out to shoot on location. Here are some images from the pre-mitzvah session and the actual party.

Matthew’s Bar Mitzvah was at the Harbor Club at Prime, in Huntington and it was a blast! I spent some time with Matthew before the party started grabbing some pics of him in the beautifully decorated room. White couches, sports themed decor and a orange and navy blue color scheme created a stunning look for the room. The Showplace, located in New York, Nassau and the Hampton’s, produced the idea and made the room come to life. In addition to the perfect setting was the entertainment. The dancers from Ej the Dj were so friendly and kept the party at such a high energy level the guests had no choice but to get up and dance.

Being a Teen

Worthier than you believe. Stronger than you know. More beautiful than you think.

Being a teen is one of the hardest years for most kids. Boys & girls both. Not only are they trying to navigate their way socially, they are often struggling with self esteem and lately, body image more so than ever. In their eyes, they just don’t seem to measure up. My motivation to launch a new program for teens of all ages is coming straight from my heart and is driven by my passion. My passion to build confidence in teens by creating photographs that capture their beauty. Teens are bombarded with imagery that seem so unrealistic to them because the images are in a magazine or showcasing a famous music artist or model. The truth is, having a hair and make-up artist, a stylist and a really good photo retouched is part of the formula.

My idea is to create an experience for teens and create photos that could be on the cover of any teen magazine. Whether your teen likes fashion, is a musician, is an athlete, loves theater, sings, loves the city, etc… the experience will be unique to them. I have always been told that my portraits are different, that I truly know how to make kids shine. The most rewarding part about what I do is showing teens their images and watching their eyes light up with disbelief and joy. This session took place in the city on the Lower East Side. Because Sabrina has such stunning features, that she might not be 100% comfortable with yet, like most teenage girls, I wanted to create photos that she could have to remind herself that her beauty is all her’s and all natural. Her eyes, her brows, her dark hair but most importantly her easy going, innocent, sweetness that shines in all her images.

Here is an email from Sabrina’s Mom after showing her the images. “When I first received the photos of Sabrina, she was looking through them, and turned to me and said, “Mom, do I really look like that or did she do something to these pictures?” When I said, “No, you really look like that”, I could see on her face that she had seen herself in a new way, a good way.”

OK! So 2 pre-mitzvah shoots in 1 week. Both happened to be sports themed and boys. If you have worked with me before, you know that I am not about cookie cutter and what inspires me is to always keep the quality and style of my photography recognizable yet my subject matter and locations different. This photo shoot took place on a windy, cold day. Aaron was such a good sport! PUN INTENDED! He never complained about being cold and was a pleasure to work with.

As usual, after I have an initial conversation with the mitzvah Mom, I put together a mood board to inspire everyone involved. It’s important that stylists, make-up artists and the photographer are all on the same page and most importantly the communication between me and the mitzvah Mom have clear expectations. Aaron’s Mom brought all the right accessories which is what helped make this photo shoot such a success.

I have been working with kids of all ages for 15 plus years and I have to say working with teens are my favorite. What a perfect time in a kids life to capture their personality and make them feel like a supermodel for a few hours. Combining my love for fashion, my love for teen photography and my obsession with finding cool locations on Long Island and NYC, is extremely rewarding, but most of all, seeing the smiles and disbelief on their faces after viewing themselves in the images is priceless. This is a common reaction I hear after viewing, “WOW, YOU MADE ME LOOK SO GOOD”, “IS THAT ME”, “HOW DID YOU DO THAT”, etc…. What a confidence booster for a not so confident teen to see themselves in a different light and hi-lighting what makes them truly unique.

A client of mine, Cigall Goldman, founder of Mazelmoments.com, an online resource for planning Jewish events, recently asked me if I would ever consider shooting just pre-mitzvah photo shoots and advertising on her website. I thought about it and realized what a perfect market for me since I love everything about fashion photography. From styling, coming up with themes to working with hair and makeup artists. I set out to find myself some kids, a hair and make-up artist to work with and a stylist. I am building a solid team and super excited to shoot the 5 teens I have lined up for this month. This past weekend I worked with Aaron. It started with a conversation with his Mom about what his party theme and interests are. Like most boys, the love of sports combined with neon colors weighed heavily on the decision to shoot at this location. My goal is to not end up with traditional portraits ( you will get traditional portraits the day of the party) but to make your child feel like his images could be in the latest fashion magazine. Here are just a few that I created for Aaron.

The Chateau Briand on Long Island was the perfect location for a 40th birthday party. I was really impressed with the newly renovated rooms. I remember shooting here many years ago and was happily surprised (just like Gina) when I walked in. The room that Gina’s party was in was stunning. I had a great time photographing this party and the family was awesome. I love my job!

In the past I used to turn events down or pass them onto my photographer friends. I am not really sure why. What I am realizing is that they are so much fun and I get to do what I love, photograph people. On Saturday I photographed a Bar Mitzvah at JT’s on the Bay in Bluepoint. Here are some images from the party that I wanted to share.